Gwangju City Sees Significant Benefits from Ultralight Vehicle Chassis Development Project

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City has achieved remarkable results in the ‘Ultra-Lightweight Body Chassis Parts Technology Development Project’ implemented to secure the technological competitiveness of local automotive parts companies.

According to Gwangju City on the 2nd, the ‘Ultra-Lightweight Body Chassis Parts Technology Development Project’ was promoted to transform the local body chassis industry into a high value-added ecosystem centered on lightweight technology.

The city designated the Korea Automotive Technology Institute as the lead organization and invested 30 billion KRW from 2015 to 2019 to establish the foundation and develop technology.

In particular, 23 pieces of equipment for material analysis, design analysis, prototype parts manufacturing, and performance evaluation were established, and through company-led research and development, efforts were made to lighten the body chassis, an essential technology for realizing eco-friendly, high fuel-efficiency vehicles.

First, to promote technological innovation among companies, comprehensive support was provided for pioneering new markets, including participation in domestic and international exhibitions, overseas trend surveys, and buyer consultation meetings, with special efforts to enhance global corporate competitiveness.

As a result, the project improved companies’ technological development capabilities by achieving sales of 55.7 billion KRW, exports of 4 billion KRW, creation of 176 jobs, and filing of 45 intellectual property rights.

‘Howon,’ which participated in this project, was selected as the first World Class 300 company in the Honam region, and ‘Hyunsung Autotech’ expanded its client base to Hyundai Motor’s Asan and Ulsan plants, securing over 10 billion KRW in new annual sales.

‘Hyundai Hitec’ achieved mass production of cowl parts for the Soul electric vehicle through strengthening its research and development (R&D) capabilities, and by securing orders for automotive roof modules, it generated new annual sales of approximately 11,000 units, expanding sales through improved technological capabilities.

Son Kyung-jong, Director of the City’s Artificial Intelligence Industry Bureau, said, “Companies actively participated in customized research and development (R&D) projects considering the local industrial ecosystem, achieving many results. We will continue to promote R&D projects tailored to the needs of local companies to ensure regional economic development and job creation.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.